Beverage composition useful in beverage capsules

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to beverage compositions useful in beverage capsules and their preparation, particularly to beverage compositions comprising roast and ground coffee and dried coffee extract obtained by extracting coffee at a temperature below 60° C. Such capsules are useful for the preparation of coffee beverages in beverage preparation machines.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to beverage compositions useful inbeverage capsules and their preparation, particularly to beveragecompositions comprising roast and ground coffee and dried coffee extractobtained by extracting coffee at a temperature below 60° C.

BACKGROUND

Single-serving beverage preparation machines are well known in the foodindustry and consumer goods domain. Such machines allow a consumer toprepare on command a single serving of a beverage such as drip coffee,espresso coffee, tea, hot chocolate drink, or even liquid foodstuffssuch as soup or infant formula. Most beverage preparation machines forin-home use operate according to a system in which beverage ingredientsare provided in single-serving portions in individual containers, inparticular in the form of a rigid or semi-rigid capsule. Such capsulesmay be hermetically sealed, so as to maintain the freshness and qualityof the beverage ingredient within the capsule until use. To prepare aserving of a beverage, the capsule is first inserted into abeverage-preparation apparatus (“beverage machine”) adapted to receiveit. The beverage machine comprises a means for conducting water it intothe beverage capsule, wherein the water combines with the beverageingredient to make a beverage. The water is usually heated so as toproduce a hot beverage, but may also be ambient or cold. The water maybe injected at an elevated pressure (for e.g. espresso coffee capsules),or simply channelled into the capsule at atmospheric pressure (for e.g.drip coffee). Once prepared, the beverage is dispensed from an outlet ofthe capsule into a waiting container for consumption. The brewing orextraction time, i.e. the time that water is in contact with thebeverage ingredients inside the capsule until the beverage has beencompletely dispensed is normally in the order of seconds or minutes, asit is desired that the beverage is quickly ready.

There is a desire to be able to prepare new beverages, e.g. coldbeverages, from beverage capsules. An example of a cold beverage is coldbrew coffee. Cold brew coffee is normally produced by extracting coffeefor an extended period of time in water at ambient or cold temperatureand has a milder and fresher taste and aroma than hot brew coffee. Oftenthe coffee is left in water to extract overnight, e.g. for 24 hours, andseldom for less than 12 hours. Such a process cannot easily bereplicated in a single-serve beverage preparation machine withextraction times of at most few minutes, as this will not achieve thedesired level of extraction to give sufficient taste and aroma asassociated with traditional cold brew coffee. There is thus a need forbeverage compositions useful in beverage capsules that allows the fastpreparation of coffee beverages with sufficient taste and aromaassociated with traditional cold brew coffee.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have found that a beverage capsule with a beveragecomposition comprising both roast and ground coffee and a dried extractof coffee obtained by extracting roast and ground coffee with water at atemperature below 60° C., is able to deliver a beverage with sufficienttaste and aroma of traditional cold brew coffee, when used in atraditional beverage preparation machine with an extraction time of atmost a few minutes. It has also been found that beverage compositionsonly containing roast and ground coffee, or only containing a coffeeextract obtained by extracting roast and ground coffee with water at atemperature below 60° C., does not deliver the same aroma intensity.Furthermore, beverage compositions containing only coffee extractproduced at low extraction temperature tends to cake and are not stableduring storage. Accordingly, the present invention relates to a beveragecomposition comprising a) roast and ground coffee, and b) a dried coffeeextract obtained by extracting roast and ground coffee with water at atemperature below 60° C. In further aspects the invention relates tobeverage capsule for a beverage preparation apparatus comprising thebeverage composition of the invention, a method of producing a beveragecomposition of the invention and a method of preparing a coffee beveragein a coffee beverage apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a beverage composition useful inbeverage capsules. By a beverage composition is meant a dry composition,preferably in powder format, useful for the preparation of a beverage bycombination with water or another suitable liquid.

The beverage composition comprises roast and ground coffee. Coffee beansare beans, or seeds, from the coffee plant, e.g. from the Coffea arabicavariety, also called Arabica coffee, or the Coffea canephora variety,also called Robusta coffee. Roast and ground coffee is coffee beans thathave been subjected to the processes of roasting and grinding commonlyused in the field of coffee production. Roasting of green, also calledraw, coffee beans may be performed in any suitable way to produce aromanotes associated with roast coffee. Suitable roasting methods are wellknown in the art. Similarly, methods and equipment for grinding ofcoffee beans are well known in the art and any suitable method may beused to produce roast and ground coffee beans according to theinvention.

The beverage composition also comprises an extract of coffee obtained byextracting coffee with water at a temperature below 60° C. Extractionmay be performed in any suitable way and for any suitable time. Methodsfor extraction of coffee are well known in the art, e.g. for productionof soluble, or instant coffee, e.g. from EP 0826308. The extraction maybe carried out in any suitable extraction vessel, for example fixed bedreactors or continuous counter-current extractors. Traditional methodsfor producing cold brew coffee may be used, e.g. extracting coffee atambient temperature for 8-24 hours and filtering the extract to removecoffee grounds. Extraction is preferably performed at a temperaturebetween 2° C. and 50° C., such as between 2° C. and 40° C., between 5°C. and 40° C., or between 10° C. and 30° C. Aroma may be removed fromthe roast and ground coffee before extraction to avoid aroma losses andadded back to the extract before drying, methods for removal of aromaare well known in the art of soluble coffee extraction, e.g. from WO01/13735.

The coffee extract is dried to produce a dry coffee extract, e.g. in theform of a powder. Drying may be performed by any suitable method such ase.g. spray drying, freeze drying or vacuum belt drying. Before dryingthe coffee extract may be concentrated, e.g. by evaporation, to reducethe amount of water to be removed during the drying step. If not alreadyin the form of a powder after drying, the dried coffee extract ispreferably milled into a powder after drying. The powder formfacilitates mixing of roast and ground coffee and dried coffee extractwithin the capsule. The roast and ground coffee and the dried coffeeextract is preferably present within the capsule as a powder mixture andnot as separate layers.

In a further aspect the invention relates to a beverage capsule for abeverage preparation apparatus, the capsule comprising the beveragecomposition of the invention. Beverage capsules are well known in theart, and any suitable capsule construction may be used. Suitablecapsules are e.g. disclosed in WO03059778 and EP 0512468. Theconstruction of the capsule will depend on the particular beveragemachine(s) for which is intended to be used. Several such beveragemachines adapted to the preparation of beverages from capsules existsand are well known in the art. The beverage capsule comprises a chamberwherein the roast and ground coffee and the dried coffee extract ispresent. The chamber may be hermetically sealed or it may be partly opento the environment. Beverage capsules are constructed such that water,or another suitable liquid, can be injected into the chamber where theroast and ground coffee and the dried coffee extract is present so thatthe dried coffee extract is dissolved and the soluble coffee solids areextracted from the roast and ground coffee, when a beverage is preparedfrom the capsule in a beverage preparation apparatus. The liquid withdissolved coffee solids is lead from the capsule into a cup or othersuitable container to provide a coffee beverage.

Caking of beverage compositions

In the production of conventional soluble, or instant, coffee,extraction of coffee beans is performed at high temperatures, e.g.110-180° C., which results in the hydrolysis of complex long chaincarbohydrates in the coffee beans, which are released into the extractas high molecular weight (HMW) material. This hydrolysis does not takeplace, or is very limited, when producing cold brew coffee wherein theextraction takes place at lower temperatures, e.g. at temperatures below60° C., and this results in a lower content of HMW material as comparedto conventional soluble coffee. The present inventors have found that apowder of dried coffee extract produced by extraction of coffee beans attemperatures below 60° C. tends to cake over time. This caking may takeplace during storage, especially at elevated temperatures, and mayimpact the preparation of a beverage when used in a beverage capsule.This is believed to be caused by low molecular weight (LMW) material andthe low content of HMW material.

The inventors have found that when a powder of dried coffee extractproduced by extraction of coffee beans at temperatures below 60° C. ismixed with roast and ground coffee, the tendency for caking of thecoffee extract is greatly reduced. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention the ratio by weight of the amount of roast and ground coffeeto dried coffee extract in the beverage capsule is between 20:1 and1:10, such as between 10:1 and 1:5, or between 5:1 and 1:1.

The effect of caking may also be reduced by removal of LMW material,e.g. by membrane filtration of the coffee extract. However, this maylead to increased cost and complexity of the production and may alsolead to loss of other LMW compounds that are desired in the product,e.g. taste and aroma compounds. Consequently, in a preferred embodimentof the present invention the coffee extract obtained by extracting roastand ground coffee beans with water at a temperature below 60° C. has notbeen subjected to membrane filtration.

The present invention also relates to a method of producing a beveragecomposition of the invention. The method comprises i) roasting andgrinding coffee beans; ii) extracting roast and ground coffee beans withwater at a temperature below 60° C., and drying the liquid extract; andiii) mixing the ground coffee of step i) and dried coffee extract ofstep ii) into a beverage capsule. In a preferred embodiment of themethod of the invention, the coffee extract obtained by extracting roastand ground coffee beans with water at a temperature below 60° C. is notsubjected to membrane filtration. In a preferred embodiment, the roastand ground coffee beans are extracted in step ii) at a temperaturebetween 2° C. and 50° C., such as between 2° C. and 40° C., between 5°C. and 40° C., or between 10° C. and 30° C. Aroma may be removed fromthe roast and ground coffee before extraction to avoid aroma losses andadded back to the extract before drying, methods for removal of aromaare well known in the art of soluble coffee extraction, e.g. from WO01/13735. The ratio by weight of the amount of roast and ground coffeeto dried coffee extract being mixed in step iii) is preferably between20:1 and 1:10, such as between 10:1 and 1:5, or between 5:1 and 1:1. Thedrying of the coffee extract in step ii) may be performed by anysuitable method, preferably by freeze drying, spray drying, rollerdrying, belt drying, oven drying, vacuum oven drying or vacuum beltdrying. To achieve the most efficient reduction of caking, the roast andground coffee and the dried coffee extract is mixed together. Mixing maybe performed by any suitable means, preferably achieving a homogenousmixing without destroying the particles of dried coffee extract.

In a further aspect, the invention relates to a method of producing abeverage capsule for use in a beverage preparation apparatus, wherein abeverage composition obtained by the method of the invention is filledinto a beverage capsule.

In yet a further aspect, the invention relates to a method of producinga coffee beverage in a beverage preparation apparatus, wherein water isinjected into a capsule according to any one of claims 1-5, and thebeverage is released from the capsule into a container. Beveragesmachines suitable for injecting water into beverage capsules andallowing the release of the beverage into a container are well known inthe art, and any suitable machine may be used. The injection of watermay e.g. be performed by piercing the capsule with a hollow needlethrough which the water is injected. The release of the beverage maye.g. be achieved by opening means within the capsule that opens upon theinjection of water and allows the beverage to flow into a container, oropenings may be performed in the capsule allowing the release of thebeverage. The beverage may be released into any suitable container, e.g.a cup, mug, jar, pot, or the like. The water injected into the capsulepreferably has a temperature of between 2 and 30° C., more preferablybetween 10 and 25° C., such as to provide a cold or ambient beverage.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Preparation of Dried Coffee Extract

Coffee beans were roast and ground. Coffee aroma was extracted from theroast and ground beans using a vacuum extraction process; the coffeearoma was stored for later reintroduction into the process.

The aroma-extracted roast and ground coffee was introduced into anextractor and the coffee solids extracted using water at a temperatureof 25° C. using a water to coffee ratio of 4.0. Roast and ground coffeeparticles were removed from the extract by filtering.

The above obtained coffee extract then underwent a nanofiltrationprocess using a semi-permeable membrane with a molecular weight cut-offof 1 kDa to remove low molecular weight compounds. The coffee aromaremoved by vacuum extraction was reintroduced into the extract and theextract was freeze dried to produce a stable dried coffee extractpowder.

Example 2 Preparation of Beverage Capsule

Dried coffee extract prepared as in example 1 was filled into beveragecapsules and used in a beverage preparation machine. A coffee beveragewas prepared using a beverage capsule containing 4 grams of the driedcoffee powder using water at ambient temperature.

Example 3 Preparation of Beverage Capsule

Dried coffee extract prepared as in example 1 (1 gram) was blended withroast & ground coffee (4 grams) and the mixture filled into a beveragecapsule for use with a beverage preparation machine. A high qualitycoffee beverage with high level of coffee aroma release was preparedwith water at ambient temperature when using the beverage capsule in thecoffee machine. Below table 3 shows sensory profile measured. The numberindicates intensity value within a group of high/medium level.

Example 4 Sensory Test

The beverages prepare in example 1 and 2 and a control beverage preparein the same way but from a beverage capsule containing 4g of roast andground coffee and no dried coffee extract, was compared in a sensorytest. The intensity of different aroma attributes are shown in table 1.

TABLE 1 Control Example 1 Example 2 Overall 4- medium low 5.5 - medium7 - high intensity Roasty 4- medium low 5.5 - medium 7 - high Fruity,1.5 - low 3 - low 5 - medium coffee Acid 3 - low 5 - medium 6 - mediumhigh Bitter 4- medium low 6 - medium high 7 - high Smooth 9 - very high7 - high 6 - medium high Body 4- medium low 5.5 - medium 7 - high

Example 5 Stability of Coffee Powder

A coffee dried coffee extract was produced from roast and ground coffeebeans. Coffee aroma was extracted from the roast and ground beans usinga vacuum extraction process; the coffee aroma was stored for laterreintroduction into the process.

The aroma-extracted roast and ground coffee was introduced into anextractor and the coffee solids extracted using water at a temperatureof 25° C. using a water to coffee ratio of 4.0. Roast and ground coffeeparticles were removed from the extract by filtering. The coffee aromaremoved by vacuum extraction was reintroduced into the extract and theextract was spray dried to produce a dried coffee extract powder.

3 samples were prepared for stability measurement:

-   -   A) The dried coffee extract prepared as described above    -   B) Roast and ground coffee beans    -   C) A mixture of 20% (weight/weight) of sample A) and 80%        (weight/weight) of sample B

The samples were filled into vials which were subsequently sealed toprevent moisture uptake. Vials of all 3 samples were then stored atdifferent temperatures between 30 and 90° C. for 8 hours. Theflowability of the powder in the vials was checked after 3 hours and 8hours by manually shaking and observing the samples in the vials.

Flowability was characterised after the following scale:

1: Flowable

2: Sticky

3: Caked

Results are shown in the table below:

Results after 3 h 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° C. C. C. C. C. C. C.Sample B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sample C 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 Sample A 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

Results after 8 h 30° 40° 50° 60° 70° 80° 90° C. C. C. C. C. C. C.Sample B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sample C 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 Sample A 1 1 2 2 2 2 2

It is seen that the presence of roast and ground coffee increases thestability of the coffee extract powder during storage at elevatedtemperatures.

1. A beverage composition comprising roast and ground coffee, and adried coffee extract obtained by extracting roast and ground coffee withwater at a temperature below 60° C.
 2. The beverage composition of claim1, wherein the ratio by weight between the amount of roast and groundcoffee to dried coffee extract is between 20:1 and 1:10.
 3. The beveragecomposition of claim 1, wherein the ratio by weight of the amount ofroast and ground coffee to dried coffee extract is between 10:1 and 1:5.4. The beverage composition of claim 1, wherein dried coffee extract isobtained by extracting roast and ground coffee with water at atemperature between 2° C. and 40° C.
 5. The beverage composition ofclaim 1, wherein coffee extract obtained by extracting roast and groundcoffee with water at a temperature below 60° C. has not been subjectedto membrane filtration.
 6. A beverage capsule for a beverage preparationapparatus, the beverage capsule comprising a beverage compositioncomprising roast and ground coffee and a dried coffee extract obtainedby extracting roast and ground coffee with water at a temperature below60° C.
 7. A method of producing the a beverage composition, the methodcomprising: i) roasting and grinding coffee beans; ii) extracting roastand ground coffee beans with water at a temperature below 60° C., anddrying the liquid extract; and iii) mixing the roast and ground coffeeof step i) and dried coffee extract of step ii).
 8. The method of claim7, wherein the ratio by weight of the amount of roast and ground coffeeto dried coffee extract being mixed in step iii) is between 20:1 and1:10.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the ratio by weight of theamount of roast and ground coffee to dried coffee extract being mixed instep iii) is between 10:1 and 1:5.
 10. The method of claim 7, whereinthe roast and ground coffee beans are extracted at a temperature between2° C. and 40° C. in step ii).
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein thecoffee extract obtained by extracting roast and ground coffee beans withwater at a temperature below 60° C. is not subjected to membranefiltration.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the drying in step ii) isperformed by a step selected from the group consisting of freeze drying,spray drying, roller drying, belt drying, oven drying, vacuum ovendrying and vacuum belt drying. 13-15. (canceled)